Newsletter 2/2016
Inspiring Euros 2016
The 22nd Junior and 31st Junior European Taekwon-Do Championships took place from 28th April to 1st May 2016 in Tampere, Finland, a Championships that was ran with both successes in sport and on an organizational level. Over 1020 participants from 30 countries among them 495 competitors representing 27 countries attended the championships.
In my opinion, but also of many other participants the organizational level of the championships was one of the highest in the history of the AETF for the principle tournament on the European continent. The visible care about what was essential and also the finer details significantly increased the value of the entire event.
I would like to thank to Master Thierry Meyour – President of ITF Taekwon-Do Finland and Ms. Heli Karjalainen, the Head of the Organising Committee and her whole team who made tremendous efforts in preparing these championships.
I would also like to express my gratitude to local authorities represented by Mrs. Anna Kaisa Ikonen - the Mayor of Tampere, Mr. Perttu Pesä - the Head of the Major Events of the City of Tampere and Mr. Pekka Paavola - the Head of the Sports Council of the City of Tampere for the organizational and financial support in hosting such a big event.
I am proud to acknowledge the tireless work of Master Alexander Dunbar, Master James Tjin-A-Ton, Master Gordon Wallace and Mr. Attila Solti – members of the AETF Tournament and Umpire Committee for smoothly and efficiently running the championships and to all the umpires for their impartiality, fair verdicts and professionalism.
My gratitude also extends to thank all the competitors and coaches for the emotions, the moments of affections or the feeling of the national pride, which we all felt thanks to you during the championships. The atmosphere of the whole tournament was really fantastic. Many exciting bouts during the championship showed a very high sports level of the competitors.
A great appreciation goes to all volunteers who were very visible on the championships, who helped make the atmosphere an unforgettable entertainment of the event. The organization of such a competition would not be possible without your commitment. And your work was highly evaluated by all participants.
The professional documentation of the championships and great photos in Tampere were made possible by Mr. Norbert Érseki, AETF Reporter and his assistant Ms. Orsolya Vicze-Máthé as well as to Master Jerzy Jedut, thank you for this great work.
I am grateful for the support and work of my colleagues delegates for the Congress, masters and members of AETF Board of Director and Revisory Commission.
I would also like to acknowledge our special guests Master Juan Ferrando – ITF Secretary General and Grand Master Willem Jacob Bos –ITF Director who graced us with their presence at the championships.
Finally thank you to all the sponsors but most of all the companies Mightyfist and Top Ten which have supported our martial art for many years. It is a great pleasure to work with you and observe how you help in the development of Taekwon-Do.
For obvious reasons it is not possible to mention and thank everyone who worked with the organization of the championships, but I am aware that all of you: the people responsible for live streaming, lights, exposure, awarding ceremony, medical first aid, cooking, emergency services, graphic designers, IT specialists and many others - you were just amazing.
To summarize, it is a fact that Finland has risen the organizational bar very high and it will be a challenge for the next host of the European Championships to continue such an organizational level.
With the words of grateful.
Master Tadeusz Loboda
President
